The arching spine of the creature curled toward the setting sun, its neck grew, and its bulbous eyes reached out to the dying light. Her palms were soaked. The rough edges of the walkie-talkie made it just possible enough to hold it, and push that button, that button, that button, that button, that button. That face, its face, reached into her mind and grasped at what it could, what remained. The comfortable nature of her existence finally pulled apart and revealed for what it is, was. Parsimony: an uncharitable soul that gave all it could to nothing and no-one, but everything and everyone. Its whisper gripped her.
“You want to be normal; you yearn for a reckoning. It will never come. Silent screams. Those delicious howlings for a world that rejects you but whose indifference frustrates you.”
It was upon her. Twisting, snaking, retching and closing in, it watched her quivering cheeks with anticipation. Twelve days of its slow approach, minutes in its presence, crystallised in this immortal moment. It was there, is there. It was always there, always watching, always hungry. The questions never asked. The cloying feeling that the response of the universe was too slow, like it relented its responsibility and those around her would wait ‘til the pain was too much before reaching out and saying that they had had enough. That her behaviour was too much, or too little. That months ago, her inaction drove a knife into the heart of the time they had spent together. The wretched moment departed. Her mind was drunk with self-doubt and in that doubt the monster ceased to be, before it rose up and consumed her flesh, partook in her and her being, her mind relaxed and she was finally calm.
The hustle and bustle on the station was jarring to Embrey, stifling the thought pattern of his meagre brain and inviting unusual thoughts that he often preferred to keep out. The train eventually pulled in and with it the hustle grew to a swell as the passengers alighted their carriages and those waiting on the platform, like Embrey, embarked. It was a full service, but his first-class ticket got him on a quieter and more comfortable carriage, full of personal rooms that were assigned to each rider. Embrey had chosen a single room, complete with a desk for the work that he still needed to finish today before he met with his client at London.
His suitcase was heavy with anticipation, not so with just papers, pens, and pencils. As he sat and took in the well upholstered bench and thick glass pane that afforded him a view of the outside world, he knew that little else would remain the same over the coming months. He was absorbed by the chaos on the platform that he was so recently a part of, but as the train sounded off its escape from the platform, he readied his things and set about to work, hoping to be finished by the end of the several hour journey to the capital.
The oven fires burned warm in the back room, a heat emanating that kept the cold from setting into Rhun’s bones. He sat in the workshop hunched over the pillar of clay, his hands wet with redness. There was a quiet chatter from amongst the others, chatter about the winter festivals and what they were having for lunch. Owain approached from behind, slapping him on the shoulder and knocking him off balance.
“How’s it–?”
“Oh for fuck—”
“Going?”
“Sake!”
Rhun hit the now misshapen clay back into a stump of amorphous goo and spun the wheel back to speed.
“I’m fine, fine. Thanks for asking,” responded Rhun through gritted teeth.
“Good to hear, lad. We’ve got a union meeting after work, down the pub. You coming?” Owain sat opposite Rhun, his smock speckled with slowly drying bits of clay.
“Aye, I was planning to, but that little slap set me back ten minutes work. You’ll need to help me hit quota, cos otherwise I’ll be in the shit, and if I’m in the shit, you’re in the shit.”
“Ok, ok, boss! Not a problem, I’ll spin up a bowl and you can take it for your pile, but see you after work though, yeah?”
“Yeah,” Rhun grunted, and with a nod told Owain to piss off to his own station.
5-minute Freewrite word: Pottery
I’ve decided to start including quotes on the blog from books that I’m reading, both fiction and non-fiction. I think there’s a wealth of understanding to be gained from the study of history and the study of political ideology, especially with regards to ones worldbuilding. Making things up as you go can be a hard task on its own, but no world will feel more concrete and real than one that observes real the real historical tendencies of human development. Marxism, and its analytical framework of historical materialism, is of great value to a writer that wishes to create worlds that feel grounded, even in their fantastical elements. It can help you develop an idea of where struggle comes from, why struggles occur, why the scales of power shift, and in doing so allow you to better assert a world in motion, with conflict and change at its very core. Ursula K Le Guin, though an anarchist and not a Marxist, created very compelling worlds and histories through her modelling of fictional societies within an anthropological framework, which gives an air and quality of believability in her worlds despite their fictional nature.
The study of our own world and its history can only improve ones ability to create their own worlds and their own histories.
She gazed out onto the frothy waters, the ebb and flow of the waves rocking her eyelids to a deep lull. The shell curve felt like an infinity in her hands, its cool ridges taking up the space between her fingers and the rough indentations like galaxies that her fingers were eager to explore. The cool ocean air smelt intoxicating as her feet trudged forward through the morass of seaweed.
“How long has it been?”
The voice came from behind her, his voice.
“Long enough,” she responded.
The shell slipped from her hand and buried itself into the sand.
Another step and the water reached above her ankles, tickling her shins.
“It doesn’t have to end this way.”
It does, she took another step. Now her dress was soaked through at the base, the thin fabric clinging to her thighs.
“We can just go back home, back to the children,” he sounded less composed, for the first time in their long time together.
Finally, she looked back and saw a crack on his face, the morning sun catching his gentle creases and beginnings of crow’s feet. He was worried.
An enjoyable romp through the beginning of Ursula K Le Guin’s writing career. As this is a collection of three novellas, I’ll tackle each separately.
Rocannon’s World
I thoroughly enjoyed this exploration of an interstellar categorist getting stuck on the planet he was sent to explore. It reads like a fantasy novel with the occasional nod to the science fiction reality of Rocannon, armed with a sparse amount of his advanced technologies that keep him from getting swallowed up by the conflicts of a backward medieval set of societies that have been tainted by the League of World’s interventions. A wonderful blend of sci-fi and fantasy genres that introduces the general thrust of the Hainish Cycle universe’s core assumptions and worldbuilding well. What surprised me, having read the Hainish Cycle out of published order, is that this book, and the others, don’t function on the same type of thematic principles as other Hainish Cycle books Le Guin is well known for, like Left Hand of Darkness and The Dispossessed. Those feel far more like speculative fiction, tackling a specific idea like gender/sex and capitalism/communism, versus these initial forays into Le Guin’s writing that tackle much more sub-textual problems, often very character driven. Appraising the theme is much more difficult as the book wears its theme much less on its sleeve as later entries do. Her ability to masterfully intertwine character development and thematic development are not yet at the level found in her later novels. However, her prose is just as strong as it is in later entries, reading like poetry at times and capturing your imagination wonderfully.
Planet of Exile
This felt much like the transition for me from Earthsea to the Tombs of Atuan. Le Guin has found her footing of her universe and begins with strong character and setting development. Short, sweet and culminating in a fantastic final act set-piece, this was a page-turner and was the quickest of the three novellas for me to finish. The romance sub-plot was not as well developed and explored as Le Guin manages in later entries, but this at least introduces a developed female character into the fold of the otherwise male dominated trilogy. The antagonists are, however, woefully underdeveloped and depicted as savages baring down on the civilised Alterrans and semi-civilised natives. It kept me asking, ‘yeah but why are they so intent on this war?’ which I’ve not ever experienced in another Le Guin work, whose villains are normally fantastically developed and play very well into the thematic development of the piece. However, in contrast, the conflict within the Alterrans and natives is well-developed and the characters are all very coherent in their actions; the interplay of their particular cultures is well considered leading to a number of tense moments and points of character drama.
City of Illusion
A slow start that while developing the main character wonderfully for later pay-offs I found myself not struggling through but plodding, nonetheless. Around the halfway mark the book picks up considerably, and when Falk enters the eponymous city I couldn’t put the book down. Intrigue, mystery, masses of mind-bending conflict that culminate in a wonderful ending sequence that had me eager to read the next page. The few female characters are given some time to shine, though once again the story is dominated by males, a disappointing but not deal-breaking factor of a lot of Le Guin’s writing in this era. The villains are the ‘ultimate evil’ of the trilogy, having conquered at least Earth in their attempts at undermining the League of Worlds, and while being incredibly interesting as a concept and devilishly conniving, I’m left wanting more to learn about their origin and reasons for being such bastards, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing! Of the three, this story could have easily been spun into a longer work, but it still stands strong as it is, with, as mentioned, a ridiculously compelling final act that ties Falk’s journey up with grace.
—
Conclusion
Definitely worth reading all three of the novellas, none are so long as to be a great imposition and if you start to lose momentum the endings are not long around the corner in each. I found myself gripped, as an amateur writer myself, seeing the growth of Le Guin’s writing through time, and for those who are budding writers themselves this set of stories are a great case study for how an author’s prose, character development, plotting and theming develop over time with each published piece.
“Please stop,” the words fell out of her mouth without thought. The monster that stood before her wouldn’t listen. The beating would continue, and the blood would continue to pour, from both the victim and hunter. This didn’t need to happen, she thought as the fists fell once more into the bloodied visage of her abuser. You’ll end up in prison, or worse, she thought as the others streamed into the room at the commotion, stepping over the other’s body and through the building rubble.
“What is he doing?” asked the woman from 3b, watching through the hole in the door with her hands at her mouth.
The thudding continued like a slow pneumatic drill, one after another, methodical, unending. A cough broke up the monotony as the victim proved their body had not yet given up. The monster wiped the blood from his face which gave the onlookers respite from the beating, to see the monster’s humanity and what it had unleashed upon its prey. Tears streaked down his face, but his fists never stopped.
“Please, you don’t have to do this for me,” she repeated, this time with intent, with feeling. He shuddered at the words but continued.
When the face no longer looked like a face, he lifted his victim by the hair and dragged him along the floor toward the window. Bottles of beer, needles, wrappers from take-out burgers, discarded shoes, old musty clothes, all parted way as their owner was hauled to atonement. The window opened wide, swinging outwards from a hinge on its top.
“You can’t do that!” shouted another, the man from 3e, stepping toward the fray. A knife flashed by the monster stopped him in his tracks, the blade already stained with sticky crimson.
Effort was required to lift his victim above the windowsill; the knife still in hand it pressed into his quarry’s skin and blood trickled down afresh over their soaked red graphic-tee.
“I don’t want this,” she cried this time. “Please, Andrew, stop!”
The monster turned to face his sister as his victim teetered on the precipice of the third-floor window.
“He deserves it.”
Screams echoed upward from the ground floor as the body smashed into the pavement with a thump, bones cracking and limbs flailing helplessly. Sirens from the police vans finally arriving swelled into earshot, and along with the screeching of their tires the dreadful quiet was finally released into a cacophony of shouting, swearing and cries. The monster watched the chaos outside, staring out the window with knife in hand. His sister stood stock still, and no other dared approach him. 3c pulled at her arm, telling her to get away from him. 3d shielded 3b from the scene, embracing her. 3e watched in dread, expecting the monster to jump from the window himself or otherwise kill everyone in the room.
Neither of those things happened. The police came. The monster became a man again and gave up his malice, escorted in handcuffs from the foundation of his interminable rage.
“I’ll always protect you,” he whispered as he passed her, a soundless mouthing of words only she could intimate from her preternatural sibling connection. It rang over and over in her head, louder and louder until the moment her head finally hit the pillow of her hospital bed.
The following is a one-shot adventure that can be included in any campaign. Designed for DND 5th Edition, but there is not reason why this cannot be adapted to another table-top system. The remaining acts are to come, but feel free to come up with your own final act in the meantime. Suits levels 3-5, but easily adapted to higher levels.
Setting: The dock town of Atinus, and the nearby mountainous Isle, the Drakecrags.
Opener
The party are enjoying some pints at the local pub.
Music and merriment fill the air, as the pub buzzes with activity.
After the group’s first round of beers, they’re approached by a tall, slender man with clean, short red hair and a bushy moustache.
The man introduces himself as Teneris Redbottom, a merchant that often visits Atinus (a docktown) to sell and buy at the market.
The local farmers haven’t been attending market recently, and the news about town is that their livestock has been stolen each week for the last two months.
A dragon has been sighted, stealing the farm animals and flying across the sea toward the Drakecrags – a treacherous mountain range jutting from the water, home to an inactive volcano.
“Now I have a little piece of intel that most of the townsfolk aren’t privy to. That dragon is far too big, and much too smart to be wasting its time stealing these puny cows and sheep. They must be stealing those animals to feed their brood, I’m sure of it!”
“Knowing that it’s only been two month’s that dragon’s baby must still be small – an easy kill for adventurer’s such as yourselves. I’ve got 50 gold pieces in it for you – and I’ll front the cost of your boat too.”
ACt 1
The party must hail a boat from the docks to the Drakecrags.
On the way, the party should be interrupted by Thurian Jask, a merchant, who is desperately searching for his friend, Keyla Silverfrond, a wood-elf wizard.
Thurian explains that Keyla was also approached by Teneris Redbottom regarding the dragon problem. As an accomplished wizard, Keyla was well suited to the task, and set off immediately.
“Keyla has been missing for 4 days now, and I’m deeply worried about her. If you’re making the trip there as well, could you make sure she’s safe? She took her own boat, so make sure to keep an eye out for it: elvish woodwork and the mast is painted blue, her favourite colour.”
Of particular importance to Thurian is her wand, a family heirloom. If the worst has happened to Keyla, the party are to try and find the wand and return it to Thurian, so that he can take it back to her family of wood elves.
Act 2
Once the party arrives at the Drakecrags, they will be met by Keyla’s boat, and within it a pair of scavenging goblins hiding amongst the cargo (Stealth DC 15). They will not act aggressive, and instead try desperately to escape capture. They are from a small tribe on the island, and fearful of the dragon that resides in the volcano.
If reasoned with, they will explain that another goblin tribe works at the behest of the dragon, and have camps in front and within the volcano’s cave system. One of their friends has also been captured by this tribe, and is being held in their lair.
There are two ways to approach the volcano, the west, or the east. The goblins know that the west entrance is guarded by loyal goblins from the opposing tribe, and the east entrance is defended by kobolds, part of the dragon’s brood, who have set traps around its entrance.
A survival check (DC 12) will also reveal the occupiers of each side of the volcano, identified from a set of tracks visible in the routes towards each path. A further check (DC 14, solved by a suitable skill like history, survival, nature) can be carried out by the party to see if they understand how each species operates. Kobolds are trappers, hiding and not taking fights head on. Goblins are cowards, and use numbers to bulk up their forces. Usually led by a goblin boss or hobgoblin, once their leadership falls their morale is broken, leading them to flee.
Act 2a – West Route
A campfire is roaring tens of feet from the outside of a cave mouth, around it are three goblins. One, much larger and wearing a great big belt (a Goblin Boss), is commanding the other two goblins about. At the cave mouth are two goblins, stood guard. Chained up are two wolves, each hungry and thin. If
An investigation check (DC 12) focussed on the belt will reveal a set of keys on the belt, tucked into the goblin’s pants.
The dragon flies overhead as the party approach, a young red dragon, first circling the volcano, before flying into its top.
Around the campsite are numerous boxes and barrels with salted foods and supplies, and the party can loot these for rations if necessary. There are tee-pees that the goblins rest in if approaching at night, which are empty besides small bedrolls during the day. One side of the camp is flanked by the volcano itself, and the other a sheer cliff edge, leading down to rocky outcroppings.
In combat, the goblin boss will attempt to spend one of its turns to unlock the wolves’ chains, to set them on the party.
If looted, one the boss’ key will open the reinforced wooden door a few feet into the cave’s mouth.
Act 2a – East Route
What looks like a gauntlet of overturned boxes, canvas, barrels, bushes and brambles lies ahead. Carefully navigated the poorly constructed traps and obstacles are easy to avoid, but the dragon flying overhead notices their approach. With a roar, it begins pursuing the party from afar, initiating a chase. As it is approaching from the beach, they cannot turn back without engaging with it (highly unrecommended, the characters will all individually understand the dangers the dragon poses, no checks required). Their way forward is a 300ft dash (100m) through the traps. Roll initiative for the party, including the approaching young red dragon (1500ft away, but approaching at dash flying speed of 160ft a turn). Party members are encouraged to take the dash action to double their movement, but can also use their action/bonus action for any other purpose as required (healing, attacking obstacles).
Wilderness Chase Complication Table (D20):
Roll
Obstacle
1
Your path takes you through a rough path of brush, make a DC10 athletics or acrobatics check to get past. On a failed check, the brush counts of 5ft of difficult terrain.
2
A set of boxes and barrels blocks your path, make a DC10 acrobatics check to clear them. On a failed check the boxes count as 10ft of difficult terrain.
3
You stand on a kobold hidey-hole buried in the ground. They take an opportunity attack against you by attempting to stab you with their dagger (+4 to hit, Hit: (1d4 + 2) piercing damage.)
4
A pile of canvas hides a shallow drop. Make a DC12 acrobatics check to avoid stumbling. On a failed check the hole counts as 5ft of difficult terrain and you take (1d4) bludgeoning damage.
5
A kobold pokes its head out of a nearby hidey hole, with a handful of pocket dust. Make a DC10 constitution saving throw. On a failed save your movement is halved on your next turn.
6
A sudden drop catches you by surprise. Make a DC10 dexterity saving throw. On a failed save take 1d6 bludgeoning damage and fall prone, halving your movement next turn.
7
You blunder into a kobold’s hunting snare. Make a DC12 dexterity saving throw to avoid it. On a failed save you are restrained. To break the net, use an action on a following turn to either beat a DC10 strength check, or have someone attack and deal 3 slashing damage to the snare (AC 6).
8
A kobold hidey hole opens up on the side of the mountain. They push a load of rubble towards you, catching you off-guard. Make a DC10 dexterity saving throw. On a failed save take (1d6) bludgeoning damage, and on a successful save take half.
9
Your path takes you near a patch of razorvine. Make a dc15 dexterity saving throw or use 10 ft of movement to avoid it. On a failed save take 1d8 slashing damage.
10
You agitate a nearby wasp hive. A Giant Wasp begins chasing you (add it to the initiative).
11-20
You move unhindered.
Act 2b
The party enters either via the west or east entrance, and must attempt to get further into the dragon’s lair.
Map Number
Monster
1
Goblin
2
Kobold
3
Winged Kobold
4
Goblin
5
Goblin (from the non-dragon tribe, held captive)
6
Goblin (stopping rats coming through the tunnels to their sleeping quarters)
7
Goblin boss
8
Goblin (cooking food on the fire)
9
Kobold
10
Bugbear (sleeping, if combat gets too raucous outside his room he will join a few turns in).
11
Kobold
12
Goblin
13
Goblin (guarding portcullis lever)
14
Goblin (guarding portcullis lever)
Chest within the bugbear’s room contains a chest with loot from the random loot tables in the dungeon master’s handbook (Individual Treasure: Challenge 0–4).
Hidden spike pit trap.
Trigger. Anyone who steps on the canvas covering the hole.
Effect. The triggering creature must make a DC 11 Dexterity saving throw. On a successful save, the creature catches itself on the pit’s edge or instinctively steps back. On a failed save, the creature falls into the pit and takes 5 (1d10) piercing damage from the spikes.
Countermeasures. A successful DC 10 Wisdom (Perception) check reveals the presence of the canvas and the 1-foot-wide ledge around the edges of the pit where it is safe to travel.
Falling portcullis trap.
Trigger. A player steps between the two portcullises, a goblin swings the lever activating the portcullises on either side.
Effect. An iron portcullis drops from the ceiling, blocking the exits of the passageway.
Countermeasures. A successful DC 15 Wisdom (Survival) check reveals the potential for being trapped between the two clearly protruding portcullises. A successful DC 15 Dexterity check using thieves’ tools disables it, and a check with a total of 5 or lower triggers the trap.
Spear trap.
Trigger. A creature that walks through the trip wire triggers the trap.
Effect. The trap makes an attack against the triggering creature. The attack has a +8 attack bonus and deals 5 (1d10) piercing damage on a hit. This attack can’t gain advantage or disadvantage.
Countermeasures. A successful DC 15 Wisdom (Perception) check reveals the trip wire. A successful DC 15 Dexterity check using thieves’ tools disables the trip wire, and a check with a total of 5 or lower triggers the trap.
Arrow trap.
Trigger. A creature that walks through the trip wire triggers the trap.
Effect. The trap makes two attacks against the triggering creature. Each attack has a +8 attack bonus and deals 5 (1d10) piercing damage on a hit. This attack can’t gain advantage or disadvantage.
Countermeasures. A successful DC 15 Wisdom (Perception) check reveals the trip wire. A successful DC 15 Dexterity check using thieves’ tools disables the trip wire, and a check with a total of 5 or lower triggers the trap.
The tunnels between rooms can all be identified by a DC 15 Wisdom (Perception) check, revealing the wear on the wooden boards that adorn the tunnel’s walls. Moving the boards then gives access to the tunnels, a tight squeeze for anything not sized Small or Tiny (and is counted as difficult terrain).
An exploration of revolutionary movements and what just might happen if communism was finally achieved, or rather, what would happen if communism was able to develop without being under constant threat by capitalist powers.
The speculative fiction elements are wonderfully considered, and it is clear that Ursula K Le Guin had read socialist/communist theory to come up with a realistic interpretation of the final stateless, classless, moneyless society of communism. She is careful to not paint the society as utopian: it had its own very real problems that the main character regularly comes up against, but she is also clear that the system on Anarres is better than those on Urras, from the capitalist hegemon A-Io to the struggling revolutionary socialist nation of Thu.
The political intrigue is done well, both on Anarres and Urras, and the world is substantially developed despite the book being so relatively short. Le Guin gives just enough to make both worlds cohesive and believable, while still being very obviously and distinctly science fiction. The novel’s plot has important and well realised consequences for other books in the Hainish series, having read them out of published order it was very interesting to see the origins of some of the tech that is common place in the other books.
It has well deserved ‘modern classic’ status, and I would recommend this to any socialist or fan of speculative fiction.
A very enjoyable novella with an interesting hook in its magic of rewriting an object’s past. Having been the first work of Sanderson’s I’ve read, it definitely left me wanting more, and it seems a great starting point for his style of Fantasy.
A touch too on the nose for me regarding the mirroring of Chinese and East Asian culture, perhaps even veering into slight Orientalism at times. But I can forgive it when the final product is as tight, well paced, and fun as this was.
It gets a big thumbs up from me, and has potentially earned Sanderson another fan.
Writing Scratch 